Gender Differences in Job Assignment and Promotion in a Complexity Ladder of Jobs

This paper studies gender differences in the allocation of workers across tasks of different complexity using panel data from a representative sample of Finnish metalworkers during 1990- 2000. Finnish metal industry data provide a continuous measure of the complexity of the worker’s tasks that can be used to construct a complexity ladder of jobs. We study whether women have to pass a higher productivity threshold to be promoted to more complex tasks. Gender differences in promotion rates, duration to promotion, and productivity among promoted and not promoted workers are estimated. It is found that women move up the ladder less than men, women have to wait longer to get promoted, and that women are on average more productive than men in the groups of both promoted and not-promoted workers. These productivity differentials are not observed within tasks at the initial task assignment. We interpret this as evidence on higher female promotion thresholds.Careers; Job ladders; Job complexity; Gender and wages

Criteria for assessment of welfare impacts within regional planning of transport

Regional transport system plans present the wide framework for local transport planning, and are the means of applying the national high-level objectives regionally. Transport system plans are usually created interactively with the regional land use planning. Prediction and appraisal of the potential impacts of the alternatives under discussion form an important part of the planning process. This paper presents Finnish experience in defining criteria for assessing the potential welfare impacts of a transport plan or policy. These criteria are to be used co-operatively by the planners and decision-makers. An important issue is the link between the formation of the objectives and the actual evaluation of impacts, as well as the underlying values and views that influence the selection of planning methods and practises. The criteria were drafted based on a literature review and preliminary discussions with national transport authorities. The preliminary criteria were selected and put into order by using the multi-criteria method MACBETH. The process involved active co-operation with the national transport authorities, as well as with other interest groups. The draft criteria were prioritised based on the opinions of selected representatives of national and regional authorities and transport planners. In this paper we focus on the priorisation process of the criteria, as well as discuss the validity and usability of the criteria created. Furthermore, the suitability of multi-criteria analysis in the context of regional transport planning is discussed, in addition to the consistency requirements between the criteria and the multi-criteria model. The criteria have been created in an ongoing Finnish study that aims at supporting regional transport planning, concerning the impacts that changes in the transport system may have on the welfare of the communities and individuals. Furthermore, the suitability of certain Multi-Criteria Decision Aid (MCDA) methods in creating consensus in the planning process is tested.

School tracking and development of cognitive skills

The Finnish comprehensive school reform replaced the old two-track school system with a uniform nine-year comprehensive school and significantly reduced the degree of heterogeneity in the Finnish primary and secondary education. We estimate the effect of this reform on the test scores in the Finnish Army Basic Skills test. The identification strategy relies on a differences-in-differences strategy and exploits the fact that the reform was implemented gradually across the country during a six-year period between 1972 and 1977. We find that the reform had a small positive effect on the verbal test scores but no effect on the mean performance in the arithmetic or logical reasoning tests. Still in all tests the reform improved the scores of students from families where parents had only basic education.Education; school system; tracking; comprehensive school; test scores

School Tracking and Development of Cognitive Skills

The Finnish comprehensive school reform replaced the old two-track school system with a uniform nine-year comprehensive school and significantly reduced the degree of heterogeneity in the Finnish primary and secondary education. We estimate the effect of this reform on the test scores in the Finnish Army Basic Skills test. The identification strategy relies on a differences-in-differences strategy and exploits the fact that the reform was implemented gradually across the country during a six-year period between 1972 and 1977. We find that the reform had a small positive effect on the verbal test scores but no effect on the mean performance in the arithmetic or logical reasoning tests. Still in all tests the reform improved the scores of students from families where parents had only basic education.education, school system, tracking, comprehensive school, test scores

Educational policy and intergenerational income mobility: evidence from the Finnish comprehensive school reform

This paper estimates the effect of a major education reform on the intergenerational income mobility in Finland. The Finnish comprehensive school reform of 1972-1977 replaced the old two-track school system with a uniform nine-year comprehensive school and significantly reduced the degree of heterogeneity in the Finnish primary and secondary education. We estimate the effect of this reform on the intergenerational income elasticity using a representative sample of males born during 1960-1966. The identification strategy relies on a difference-in-differences approach and exploits the fact that the reform was implemented gradually across country during a six-year period. The results indicate that the reform reduced the intergenerational income elasticity by about seven percentage points.Intergenerational mobility; education; comprehensive school reform

Regional development platform analysis as a tool for regional innovation policy

European regions have to direct their innovation and technology policies in the world of ever increasing competition. Right kinds of policy decisions aiming towards sustainable futures are essential in achieving competitive advantage for a region. The strategic choices are especially important because of the often very scarce resources in a region. The evolutionary economic theory has indicated the great difference of the development paths of the regions in seemingly similar circumstances, which manifests the unique character of each region, and the need of understanding the importance of path dependency in regional development. Helpful tools for supporting regional strategy building and decision-making in extremely different regions are needed. In this study, 'Regional Development Platform Analysis' is presented as a method of finding the regional potential for future development strategies. The method is under construction at Helsinki University of Technology Lahti Center. It needs a lot of further development in order to fulfil the demands of a real instrument for regional development. However, this paper presents a pilot case conducted in Lahti Region, where the method has been used as a tool for building the regional science park concept. A regional development platform is a concept understood as an industry or expertise based 'platform' presenting the business potential of the actors working for the platform. The actors of a regional development platform are the firms technology centers, expertise centers, research centers, education organisations etc. contributing to the defined development platform. A regional development platform has to be defined separately each time. A development platform is often based on an industry, including the development organisations and the regional innovation system supporting the development of the industry/platform. The analysis method consists of four phases: -Background study of the region, -expert analysis, -study of possible technological scenarios in the future, -development platform analysis. In the background study, all the available statistical data was gathered pertaining to regional economics, industries and expertises in Lahti region. And if possible, the regional data was compared with the data of the national level. In the second phase, an expert analysis panel was organised. The 30 respondents working for regional development organisations were asked to give marks to 15 industries using 10 given criteria. The same was asked of 13 expertises using five given criteria. The grade of importance of the connection between industries and expertises was asked as well. The material prepared in the first phase was given to the respondents. In the third phase, a brief look was taken at possible technological scenarios affecting the region in the future. Technological changes might change radically the potential of a development platform in the future. The regional development analysis of Lahti Region itself was conducted by using the material produced in the first three phases. The most potential development platforms were outlined for the future development strategies. The development platform analysis was also used as substantial basis in defining the science park concept of Lahti Region.

Evaluation of a separative rearing method of the mealworm beetle for protein production

The global demand for cheap and sustainable protein is ever increasing along with the Earth’s population and rising meat consumption, and so is the focus on insects as an alternative source of protein. One of the most promising insect species for this use is Tenebrio molitor, the mealworm beetle. Very little research has been done concerning the different rearing methods of these insects, even though the Internet is full of empiric evidence provided mostly by commercial growers and hobbyists. The aim of this study was to experiment if mealworm production could be increased by keeping the adult beetles separated from their eggs and subsequent offspring with the help of an aluminum mesh that has been attached to the bottom of the rearing container, which sieves the eggs as the beetles move around in the food mixture they inhabit. The most basic way to rear Tenebrio molitor is to grow the whole heterogenous population (eggs, larvae, pupae and beetles) together in the same container. The hypothesis was that the eggs, which the beetles lay directly into the food, or the subsequent offspring, can more easily get cannibalized, or harmed in some other way, if they are kept in the same container with the beetles. The results showed that there was a small increase (~ 12%) in the amount of mealworms in the three (3) experimental groups, where the mesh was used for separation, compared to the three (3) control groups that had a mixed population of beetles, eggs and larvae. Because the total number of groups in the experiment was small, the increase is not big enough to be significant. The separation of the adult beetles has other possible benefits in production, like reducing the need for sieving and the possibility to better customize and optimize the rearing habitats, namely food sources and humidity, for the different life stages.Halvan ja kestävästi tuotetun proteiinin kysyntä on jatkuvassa kasvussa Maan asukasluvun ja lisääntyvän lihansyönnin kanssa. Samalla on kasvanut huomio vaihtoehtoisia proteiininlähteitä, kuten hyönteisiä, kohtaan. Yksi lupaavimmista hyönteislajeista tähän tarkoitukseen on Tenebrio molitor, eli jauhopukki, ja varsinkin sen toukka, eli jauhomato. Hyvin vähän tutkimusta on tehty liittyen hyönteisten kasvatusmetodeihin, vaikka Internetissä onkin paljon ammatti- ja harrastajakasvattajien tuottamaa tietoa. Tämän opinnäytteen tarkoituksena oli tutkia kokeellisesti, olisiko jauhomatojen tuotantoa mahdollista lisätä pitämällä täysikasvuiset kuoriaiset erossa niiden munista ja tulevasta jälkikasvusta käyttämällä apuna kasvatusastian pohjaan kiinnitettyä alumiiniverkkoa, joka siivilöi munat itsestään kuoriaisten liikkuessa ruokaseoksessa. Yksinkertaisin tapa kasvattaa jauhomatoja on pitää koko heterogeeninen populaatio (munat, toukat, kotelot ja kuoriaiset) samassa kasvatusastiassa. Hypoteesin mukaan ruokaseokseen munitut munat ja niistä kuoriutuva nuori jälkikasvu voivat helpommin vaurioitua tai kuolla, esimerkiksi kannibalismin seurauksena, mikäli niitä pidetään samassa kasvatusastiassa täysikasvuisten kuoriaisten kanssa. Koe osoitti, että kaikkien kolmen (3) verkollisen koeryhmän jauhomatojen yhteismäärä oli noin 12 % suurempi kuin kaikissa kolmessa (3) vertailuryhmässä, joissa eli heterogeeninen populaatio (kuoriaiset, munat ja toukat). Määrä ei kuitenkaan ole tarpeeksi merkitsevä ryhmien pienen määrän vuoksi. Eri elinvaiheiden erottelulla on kuitenkin muita hyötyjä tuotannon kannalta, se nimittäin vähentää kuormittavaa ja aikaa vievää seulontaa sekä mahdollistaa paremmin elinolojen, kuten ravinnon ja ilmankosteuden, optimoinnin kasvun eri vaiheisiin

Personal Networks Supporting Workplace Learning: A Case Study in the Finnish Defence Forces

This paper is a case study researching personal social networks and their meaning to individual-level learning processes in the workplace. The study was based on the knowledge-creation metaphor of learning. Employees' personal networks are seen as an important component of their learning potential and competence. Methodologically, the paper presents a relatively new technique of Social Network Analysis (SNA), namely, the qualitative egocentric network interview, and a new way of presenting research findings in visual form. The context of the study is the Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) and it was conducted in three companies of one brigade-level unit of the Finnish Army. An egocentric network interview was conducted with ten Non-Commissioned Officers (NCO). The interview data was analysed with qualitative content analysis, and the networks were visualised with the Cytoscape software. The egocentric network analysis showed that the people in the same company created a major support structure for the NCOs’ workplace learning. However, nearly all NCOs had important network structures that were formed around their individual expertise and tasks. The networks varied considerably in size and composition, but had certain connecting features. The networks had three main components; one, the personnel of the NCO’s own unit provided important social support. Two, every NCO had networks related to their own specific task, and three, some NCOs had networks formed through various stages of their life that were still active and useful in their current job. The different ways in which the networks enable and support workplace learning are discussed. In addition, some methodological issues of social network analysis are addressed